CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Top-seeded Lesley University will advance to the New England Collegiate Conference Championship for a seventh straight season as the Lynx defeated No. 5 seed Southern Vermont College 2-0 tonight in Semifinal action at Edward Field. The Lynx used two first half goals to seal the win in wet and windy conditions and will play for their third straight NECC title when they host Elms College in the championship match on Saturday. With the loss, the Mountaineers end their season at 8-11-0.
Lesley wasted little time getting on the board as senior captain Hannah Landerholm (Edmonds, Wash.) headed home a corner kick off the foot of sophomore Lindsey Bos (Valencia, Calif.). Landerholm elevated over a slew of players in the box to make the connection and send the ball inside the far corner to give the hosts a 1-0 lead in the third minute of play.
Lesley would continually pepper the Southern Vermont net throughout the match and broke through again with five minutes to go in the first half. Bos ripped a shot from the top of the box that bounced off the left post, but senior Marysol Flores (Pico Rivera, Calif.) was in position to clean up the rebound as she deposited a goal from six yards out to give the Lynx a 2-0 edge heading into halftime.
The Lynx nearly made it 3-0 just 1:44 into the second stanza when junior Melinda Robinson (Plano, Texas) drilled a screamer from the top left corner of the box, but Mountaineer keeper Melissa Mascari (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) made a terrific leaping save to send the ball over the crossbar. The freshman came up big again for the visitors on the ensuing corner kick when she corralled a head ball from Isabella Vidana (San Marcos, Calif.) to keep Lesley scoreless in the half.
Mascari was excellent in goal for Southern Vermont as she was credited with 10 saves before leaving the game due to injury in the 59th minute of play. Junior Katelyn Raymond (Bristol, Conn.) made four saves in relief of Mascari without allowing a goal.
The Lynx outshot the Mountaineers by a 32-0 margin and held a 5-0 edge on opportunities from the corner. The match was relatively clean as each side was called for just two fouls on the night.
Lesley will try for their third straight NECC title on Saturday against Elms College in a rematch of the 2013 NECC Championship game where the Lynx prevailed 1-0 in double overtime.